Tasting the Universe: People Who See Colors in Words and Rainbows in Symphonies: A Spiritual and Scientific Exploration of Synesthesia

When I spoke of my impressions as a child, I quickly learned that my perceptions were not common; in fact, they were strange. Like many synesthetes around the world, I learned to keep them to myself. Thus Im grateful for the present day climate of inquiry into and wonder about this nearly forgotten gift. And while traditional medicine has always fascinated me, and research on this topic is currently burgeoning around the world, I knew I must also call on consciousness experts. As someone who lived inside the experience, I knew that anatomy alone did not, could not, hold all the answers. The beauty of the individual testimonies in this book is that they are the subjects truths as only someone who knows the gift intimately can speak about it; many of them are speaking at length about it for the first time. Their words about such an ineffable experience have helped me find my own.Maureen Seaberg in Tasting the UniverseA violinist sees a scarlet form when he plays a certain note; a rock star sees waves of blue and green as she composes a ballad; an actress tastes cake when she utters the word table. This fascinating mingling of the senses is called synesthesia, and the people who possess this amazing gift are called synesthetes.Synesthesia is scientifically described as a cross-wiring, or lack of chemical inhibition, between brain neurons that occurs in about five percent of the population, often among creativesmusicians, artists, actors, writers, and so on. Scientific research is currently being conducted throughout the world to discover more about this condition. However, experts in the fields of spirituality and quantum physics are convinced that the truth of synesthesia lies not only within traditional science, but also within the realm of the mystical and the ineffable.Step into Maureens glittering alternate universe as she explores this fascinating subject, combining clear explanations of groundbreaking scientific research with an exploration of deeper spiritual truths.Tasting the Universe explains and explores: Why survivors of near-death experiences sometimes return with this amazing gift.Why all infants are believed to be synesthetes until four months of age.The experiences of famous synesthetes such as Itzhak Perlman, Billy Joel, Pharrell Williams, and Marilyn Monroe (whose biographer, Norman Mailer, first asserted that she possessed this gift). For Maureen, synesthesia is not an idle brain tick that can be explained away by science (although it does offer some important clues), but a unique and ineffable ability to tap into and reveal a greater creative universe and even the divine.Follow along with her as she takes you on her own personal Eat, Pray, Love of discovery, prompted by her often confounding yet always amazing experiences growing up with this gift.